A Children's Book Blog by Author Shana Gorian

It’s Official – My Screenplay Project

Hi all, I haven’t mentioned this often because adapting one of my Rosco the Rascal stories for the screen seemed almost a silly dream – so outlandishly impossible, too head-in-the-clouds to pursue in reality. Yet I’ve been quietly studying the market, the screenwriting medium, met with people from the business, (I live in southern California so they’re not that hard to find around here;) closely followed the industry for a few years, and tried my hand at screenwriting, myself. So I know the market is quite good (and growing) for children and family dramas. And finally, I’ve decided to take my idea, along with my eternal optimism and dogged determination, (no dog pun intended) to the next level. And so I have news to report.

Rosco the Rascal Books is partnering with Voyage Media Company to create a marketable screenplay for an adaptation of my book, Rosco the Rascal Visits the Pumpkin Patch. It’s official! I’ve invested some money into the project in order to make this happen and it’s really only the first step, but it’s a big one.

A professional screenwriter will rewrite my version of the screenplay with some much needed expertise and will add more backstory and drama than I did when I wrote the screenplay myself. Because, despite having rewritten it, probably fifteen times, myself, it still isn’t there yet.

After having it evaluated by a Hollywood producer through Voyage’s Pitch a Producer and screenplay evaluation program, in which I had an hour-long discussion of the finer points of my project and screenplay over the phone with a producer, I learned that my version wasn’t quite ready for the real world entertainment industry yet. Yet I was told that the bones of the story, characters, and setting were interesting and full of great, funny and compelling details, all with excellent potential for a live action boy meets dog movie for ages 7-12, or an animated series for the younger set, ages 4-7.(Not a big screen adaptation for the four-quadrant audience, as these are almost always adapted from widely known books that have sold millions and millions of copies, just in order to get funded, and that’s not this series.) 😉

So I’m gladly handing it over to a professional so I can focus on writing the books. It’s amazing how different the two types of writing are, (books versus screenplays) complete opposites in many ways, and certainly much harder for the average novelist to master than one might think. At least, certainly more than I thought!

The screenwriter and I will also be teamed up with a Hollywood producer who will oversee and keep the project on target for the current Made for Video and Made for Streaming markets, both of which were advised as the best directions for the adaptation.

When it’s ready, Voyage will help get it out there in front of potential buyers through their impressive network of entertainment professionals. The rewriting process is supposed to take about six months. I’ll share more details as they become available, but suffice it to say, I’m really excited about this, so please stay tuned!

Finally, I’d love to hear your feedback, since, after all, you’re the movie-going, TV-watching, Prime-streaming, Netflix-renting public as much as I am.